Point of View
Ever read something that you’ve read many times before in the past, then suddenly have a new meaning leap out at you?
That happened to me last week as I came across a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, the words of Christ:
“Your eye is the lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”
It occurred to me that “the eye, is also a metaphor for ‘perspective’.”
The function of your eye is to see, to perceive that which is around you. There is a condition in which our eyes have trouble with “depth perception” and as such, objects are actually closer (or further) than they appear. You’ll note that on some cars’ rear view mirrors that are curved by design to widen your peripheral field. A tiny disclaimer is stamped at the bottom of that mirror: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It takes a mental adjustment to take in that visual information and interpret it in a useful (and not dangerous) way.
In the same way, when we are going through trials, or just waiting for that breakthrough, or promise from God to be fulfilled, we must adjust our perspective to compensate for a wider than natural perspective. And in the same way, we must view our life, and those resolutions of problems, and fulfillment of promises: Fulfillment and victory is closer than it appears to us.
It may come as a surprise that perspective can be a choice. We can chose to let our “eyes” be filled with darkness, or light when viewing the same circumstance. How do we choose? By assigning the correct words/thoughts to our response, regardless of appearance and emotion.
So when that inconvenience or frustration occurs, we can think/say, “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m so frustrated, why does this always happen to me? I don’t think God even notices or cares.”
Or we can think/say: “Thank you, God, because I get another chance to depend on you, and exercise my faith. And I know that without faith it is impossible to please you. Thank you that I can turn to you in the face of adversity and seek you. Your word says that you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you, so I thank You in advance for the great reward you have (and are) for me. I not only endure this, but I count it all a joy that I’m going through this because You’re developing my patience, faith and character though it.”
If you consider both responses, it becomes clear which one will better influence your entire day, and your being.
Let’s turn our eyes to God and take on His cosmic, eternal perspective on all things. It’s going to feel a bit unnatural, naturally, because it’s Supernatural. But when we do this, it will give light and life to our entire existence not only for the moment, but for our eternal destiny.
I’m hoping, praying and working towards becoming a New York Times bestselling author, but more than that, I hope and pray that whatever I do, say, or write, will have a positive influence on the people with whom I come in contact.
What are you believing for? Please let me know in the comments section below.
Joshua Graham is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, winner of the International Book Award and Forward National Literature Award. His thrillers include DARKROOM, LATENT IMAGE and BEYOND JUSTICE, and TERMINUS. Graham's works have been characterized as thought-provoking page-turners.
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